The amount of data transferred between electronic devices has grown tremendously the last several years. Large amounts of audio, streaming video, text, and other types of information content are now regularly transferred among desktop and portable computers, media devices, handheld media devices, displays, storage devices, and other types of electronic devices.
Data may be conveyed over cables that may include wire conductors, fiber optic cables, or some combination of these or other conductors. Cable assemblies may include a connector insert at each end of a cable, though other cable assemblies may be connected or tethered to an electronic device in a dedicated manner. The connector inserts may be inserted into receptacles in the communicating electronic devices to form pathways for data and power.
These connector inserts may include contacts or pins that form signal paths with contacts or pins in the corresponding connector receptacles. It may be desirable that these signal paths have a matched impedance over their lengths in order to increase the data rate that the signal path can support. That is, it may be desirable that these signal paths appear as transmission lines having a specific impedance. These transmission lines may convey signals that are substantially free of reflections, rise and fall time distortions, and other artifacts that may slow data transfers. Such transmission lines may be capable of handling higher data transmission rates than a signal path that does not have a matched impedance. This may be particularly important for large data transfers.
New generations of electronic devices are consistently becoming thinner and smaller. This reduction in device thickness has led to connector systems having a reduced height. This results in individual connector system components becoming thinner as well. Unfortunately, as these components become thinner, it may become harder to maintain the desired impedance along these signal paths.
Thus, what is needed are connector inserts and receptacles that provide signal paths having desired impedance characteristics.